Irreparable Harm

A Firsthand Account of How One Agent Took on the CIA in an
Epic Battle Over Free Speech

Frank Snepp

Foreword by Anthony Lewis

Among the last CIA agents airlifted
from Saigon in the waning moments of the Vietnam War, Frank Snepp
returned to headquarters determined to secure help for the Vietnamese
left behind by an agency eager to cut its losses. What he received
instead was a cold shoulder from a CIA that in 1975 was already
in turmoil over congressional investigations of its operations
throughout the world.

In protest, Snepp resigned to write a damning account of the agency's
cynical neglect of its onetime allies and inept handling of the
war. His exposé, Decent Interval,
was published in total secrecy, eerily evocative of a classic spy
operation, and only after Snepp had spent eighteen months dodging
CIA efforts to silence him. The book ignited a firestorm of controversy,
was featured in a 60 Minutes exclusive, received front-page
coverage in the New York Times, and launched a campaign of retaliation
by the CIA, capped by a Supreme Court decision that steamrolled
over Snepp's right to free speech.

In the wake of Snepp's harrowing experiences, his legal case
has been used by Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton to narrow
the First Amendment freedoms of all federal employees, especially
"whistle-blowers." Such encroachments make it clear
that Snepp's very personal story has a great deal of relevance
for all of us and certainly for anyone who has grown increasingly
distrustful of the federal government's "national security
argument."

"A well written, candid, modern version of Kafka's The
Trial."--James Bamford, New York Times

"Must reading for every law student in America. . . .
Snepp took a courageous stand and paid for it. He, and the Constitution,
deserved better."--Seymour Hersh, Los Angeles
Times

"The First Amendment to the Constitution protects our
right to say what we think, however unwelcome the message may
be. And the 'central meaning of the First Amendment,' as the
Supreme Court has put it, is the right to criticize government
and its officials. So we believe. But the story of Frank Snepp
mocks our belief. . . . A shocking revelation of how the law
can be twisted in a country that prides itself on 'Equal Justice
Under Law.'"--Anthony Lewis (from the Foreword)

"A reminder that cannot be repeated often enough of how
government agencies hide their . . . malevolence and frequent
Keystone Kop stupidities behind the tattered curtain of need-for-secrecy."--Washington
Post

FRANK SNEPP spent eight years in the CIA, five of them in
Vietnam as interrogator, agent debriefer, and chief CIA strategy
analyst in the Saigon embassy. A constitutional scholar and freelance
writer, he currently works as an investigative reporter and producer
for cable television. He is the author of Decent
Interval. For more information on Frank Snepp, view his web
site at www.franksnepp.com.